Having said this I DO appreciate selecting a point in time for longer range personal planning. I suppose January 1 is as good a time as any. My friend Robyn O’Brien, author of The Unhealthy Truth: How Our Food Is Making Us Sick and What We Can Do About It, offers lots of insight in her very educational book about our food system and its role in food allergies (mainly focused on allergies in kids but applies to all). One of her best pieces of advice I believe applies to any personal change, which is to ‘just change one thing’. Don’t make it overwhelming for yourself; start small.
With an eye toward realistic and beneficial food resolutions for the upcoming year, I would challenge you this New Year to consider this with regard to eating more local food for 2011! There are many simple ways to start.
Some of my favorite seed resources: Seed Savers Exchange, Park Seeds, Botanical Interests (Colorado based) and Monticello (this was a fun find to grow species cultivated by Thomas Jefferson himself in the 1800’s). I also found this extensive list of various seed companies (click here).
If you area Colorado resident, investigate Local Sustainablity by selecting this link or the button on the side of my blog. It’s a great grass roots organization providing information and education to those interested in local, sustainable food sources, practices and policy decisions. Their information is not just for Coloradoans either. Check them out; they have some great resources!
A SPICY PERSPECTIVE says
Love it! Asheville dogs have a lot of expectation placed on them as well!
This is such a wonderful thought-provoking post. We do our best to eat local. This time of year can be tricky, but I've found a great resource in “Winter Share” offering frozen, local organic produce in the cold months!
rosemarried says
Happy New Year! Love the post – so many great resources that you've mentioned…and your dog is ADORABLE.
Damaris @Kitchen Corners says
you comment was hilarious! Thanks for being a semi-stalker! 🙂
Megan says
Nice post! Well done! My hubby had his own CSA for a while and then managed for a few local farms. Now… we are city folks with lots of shade but a killer farmers market! – I couldn't agree with you more about New Year's Resolutions… why are we not conscious every day of the year! merry merry xoxo foodie love! megs
Lea Ann says
Bulldogs make me smile and I love her name! Great post and my New Year's resolutions are all about food. Learn how to make bread, get my knives professionally sharpened, perfect a good red chili sauce and thanks for reminding me to add CSA. I was going to do that last year and didn't get around to it.
Carolyn says
I really do keep meaning to join a CSA for the summer, but I've said that for about 3 years running now. We do have a backyard garden and this year I made an effort to go the the farmer's market almost every week. But I want to do a CSA and I WILL do it. Some day. Soon.
Kimberly Peterson says
A very Happy New Year to you too and love your resolutions except I think I will STILL struggle with anything I plan to do even the smallest thing like.. re-organise my pantry. Probably will never happen now that I've mentioned it, lol.
Jenny (VintageSugarcube) says
LOVE LOVE LOVE this post and couldn't agree with you more on so many of your points; food allergies, eating locally, etc. I wish you lived in San Diego, I would wanna meet up and chat and solve all the world's crazy food-related problems. Anyway, loved this post and wishing you a wonderful 2011. -Jenny
Boulder Locavore says
Happy New Year! Canning really is not difficult and I have found it very rewarding. There are many delicious recipes now ('not your Mama's canning', but there are some good older recipes too). I just did some pressure canning this year for the first time but mainly water bath can. If you ever decide to can jam, email me. I have a great organic pectin that allows using honey or very low sugar so your jam really tastes like the fruit and not the sugar. I make alot of that from fruits I've picked at farms or foraged! Glad to have connected with you and I'll be following your adventures! Toni
adventuresomekitchen says
Happy New Year! What great suggestions. I now live in Kansas City, where we can get local produce nearly year-round. I have friends who can, jam & dehydrate, but it's something I've not tried myself. Maybe I'll add that to my repertoire this year! Say hi to those beautiful mountains for me- I miss them every day!